Originally posted by FLUID
Not true at all !!!
What's not true?
Otterend's statement about putting away the hardshell in favor of an IK? The man is simply expressing his own opinion/preference.
Yeah, I agree with most everything you said, Chris. Particularly about how awesome the Wenatchee zone is for kayak instruction mid to late summer. But IMO, rapids like Rock and Roll and Snowblind, even Boulder Bend, could stand to be padded out with 1000 or more CFS for those rapids to be ideally suited to "beginner beginners"
But my comments on this thread were directed toward the context of Supastar's query (State Play).
I mean, I'm still push'n rubber down it, running 7 loads (or at least 6 loads with the added weight of a lunch cooler, roll-a-table, ect.) and not getting stuck. But an IK will slither over some of those sandstone benches better than a hardshell now. Pretty scrapey.
Saw a bunch of Open Canoes from BC out there yesterday, caught up to them at Rodeo Hole. It is pretty out there and I always like seeing the riverbed. All those diagonal bedrock benches and shelves are rad with their potholes full of granite gravel. Worth paddling it just to see the beauty that lies underneath the surface. But like I said: it really comes down to how far you are willing to drive for what kind of experience. I got no reason to drive anywhere else. The Wenatchee is my oyster.
Hey, any of Y'nz recall how I used to be an anti Wenatchee snob? I barely ever tapped into it because I'm not a play boater and it appeared to be a bland raft trip. I was wrong. I just had other stuff I wanted to do at the time and the Wenatchee didn't fit that agenda for me. So I didn't see what it had to offer. Well I have done a complete 180. It is a great raft trip, a great place to learn to kayak, and very charming in many other ways.
So as long as you aren't expecting "5-10K State Play", and just wanna do some old fashioned "cruising" (that old fashioned term needs to be revived, btw), it does have enough water to paddle.